Plain English Meaning

Approaches that feel and fly like a precision approach -- you get steering toward the runway and a glidepath down -- but technically they are not classified as precision approaches.

Full Definition

Instrument approach procedures that provide both lateral (side-to-side) and vertical (descent path) guidance to the runway, but do not meet the strict signal-integrity and accuracy standards required to be officially classified as precision approaches under ICAO. The most common example is an RNAV (GPS) approach flown to LPV minimums, which gives the pilot a glidepath similar to an ILS but is formally categorized as an approach with vertical guidance (APV) rather than a true precision approach.